Red Seas Under Red Skies Read Along – Final Week

So we’ve finally reached the final week of Red Seas Under Red Skies read along. It’s been another epic journey, this time we see Locke and Jean navigating the treacherous waters of the Sea of Brass. Thanks for all your comments, it was great to see what you all thought about the story and really expanded my experience with this book.

1. Oh my god, such a lot going on I thought the showdown between the Poison Orchid and the Sovereign was brilliantly written and they were holding their own until Utgar and his nasty device turned up. Well a lot of you had kind of predicted it, and I suppose we’d been let off too easy so far in terms of deaths of well-liked characters – but come on, did you expect something like that? And how on earth will Jean ever recover?
I always thought it would be the Archon that wipes out the pirates and never expected the pirates to fight amongst themselves. I knew deaths would be coming and it was really sad to see Erzi to go the way she did. At least she died by saving everyone on the Poison Orchid. I wonder how Jean would cope? Probably the same way as Locke did at the beginning of this book.

2. The deceit, the betrayal, first Rodanov and then Colvard. Even now I’m not entirely sure I understand Colvard – Rodanov was never keen on the oath but Colvard seemed okay with it all and yet in this final deceit she was more devious than Rodanov – what do you think was her motive?
I don’t think there’s any real honour among thieves, and it’s only fear that keeps them in line. So maybe Colvard wasn’t ok with the plan but didn’t want to voice out in case of angering Drakasha. So she seized the moment and turned on Drakasha when everyone is least expecting it.

3. Merrain – such a puzzle, no real answer, the mysterious tattoo, the determination to kill everyone to keep her identity and that of her master a secret. Does anybody have any ideas where she’s from and what she’s up to exactly and who the hell is she working for??
I’m guessing this based on the synopsis for Republic of Thieves. If you don’t want to know what will happen in the next book then I suggest skip ahead to the next question.

From the synopsis we know the Bondsmagi are at war with each other and Sabetha is working for one of them. So I think Merrain is actually Sabetha and the tattoo represents the Bondsmagi clan the she is working for.

4. Finally we get to the point of the GB’s latest scheme, all that elaborate planning for two years, fancy chairs, gambling, dust covered cards, abseiling lessons – all for one gigantic bluff. I loved the diversionary tactic here but having finally reached the end of the story and, more to the point, the end result – do you think the GB’s are as clever as they think they are?
It’s great to see how they all fit together and I really like how they had to go into so much trouble just to steal a few paintings from Requin. However to be honest, I feel slightly let down. I really thought we would see how they will break into that impenetrable vault. Maybe Locke and Jean will one day come back and rob Requin for real.

5. I must admit that I liked Requin and Selendri – particularly at the end – I don’t think Requin will go after Locke and Jean, he was even sort of cool and composed about it all, in fact he came across as a bit pleased with himself because he had the last laugh. Plenty of good characters this time which did you enjoy reading most about this time?
I agree Requin was pretty proud of himself because he outwitted the thieves and it was pretty sweet what he did for Selendri at the end. They do make a great couple. However my favourite character in this book has got to be Captain Drakasha. I just really enjoy reading this interesting character. On one hand she’s a strong and fearless captain, while on the other she is also a caring mother who wants to keep her children safe from harm.

6. Finally, a triple barrel question, I know I shouldn’t ask this BUT, on reflection do you have a favourite between LoLL or RSURS?? And why? Are you going to pick up Republic of Thieves? And, where do you think Lynch will take us to next??
I prefer LoLL to RSURS. I’m not really a sea person and I found parts of the voyage boring. When reading LoLL, I had no idea that the deaths were coming and I felt sad to see so many GBs dead, whereas in RSURS I knew something bad is bound to happen.

On the whole I think LoLL is a more compact and refined experience. RSURS is still good but just some parts felt like it was dragging on for no apparent reason. I am also looking forward to RoT. I’m glad I don’t have to wait as long for this book as some other people who have been following this series from the beginning. All I know is that the third book will be set in Karthain, so maybe we get some answers to how magic in the series really works.

5 COMMENTS:

I also liked Drakasha – she was a really good character to read about and I’m glad she survived – I liked her and her crew sailing off with the Archon on board.
I think i’ve been living under a rock – I haven’t read anything about RoT – didnt even know there was a synopsis! – must put that to rights immediately.
I can see your point in No.6, the first time I read RSURS I definitely preferred LoLL. This time has changed slightly and I feel like I’ve enjoyed the experience more but that might be because of the readalong because you simply pick more things up and you think about more angles involved. The other thing that I know about my reading – I do tend to race along to try and find out what’s going to happen and the readalong has slowed that down some.
Lynn 😀